1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in systems and processes for recording information and more specifically for systems and processes in which a decision to record material beginning at a particular point in time be made after that point in time.
2. Description of Related Art
Automobiles are known in which both radios and tape players are installed. Usually, however, tape players do not have a record function. One reason for this may be that by the time a piece of music is recognized and a decision made to record, the music has begun and the opportunity to capture the beginning portion of the music has passed.
Video recorders are also known which can be programmed to receive particular programs at particular times of day on particular channels. Video recorders face of the same problem in that, unless pre-programmed in advance, one cannot capture a program from the beginning, after the program has begun.
Portable video recording devices are also known which begin recording the output of a video camera on video tape when a record button is pushed by a user. Consider a person desiring to videotape a wedding. The recorder might fail to record an unexpected event because the record button had not been pushed because nothing worth recording was expected. Similarly, the person recording the wedding might run out of tape at precisely the moment vows are exchanged. Like the other examples, it would be desirable to be able to make a decision to capture events within the view of the camera on tape after those events have occurred.
The Problem
In each of the electronic devices described above, and in other similar devices, one can often not determine the significance of events until after the events have occurred. It would be desirable to be able to capture, on a recording medium, events which have already occurred.